News / Crime & Emergency
Woman charged over Moreland Road hit-and-run
Alleged driver’s licence was suspended at time of crash
Mark Phillips & AAP
Tuesday, September 16, 2025
A WOMAN has been charged with being behind the wheel of a car involved in a fatal hit-and-run collision in Moreland Road.
Crystal Portelli, 40, of Clifton Hill was refused bail in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday because of a “significant” history of offending and fears she has destroyed the car she was allegedly driving when it hit a male cyclist on the evening of August 24.
The Audi did not stop and the 40-year-old man from Princes Hill, who had been standing at the side of the road when he was hit, died in hospital the following morning.
Police arrested Portelli at a Lower Templestowe address on Monday afternoon following a three-week search for the alleged driver of the Audi.
She has been charged with failing to stop at the scene of an accident, failing to render assistance, failing to report a collision to police and driving while suspended.
“Dangerous driving causing death charges are under consideration,” Sen-Constable Stuart Dale told the court.
Detectives also arrested a 61-year-old Aberfeldie man at an Abbotsford address. He was interviewed and released pending further enquiries.
Detectives still searching for a white 2016 Audi Q5 SUV that is believed to have visible damage to both the front and passenger side.
Portelli applied for bail in court on Tuesday, which police opposed due to several risks she posed: to community safety, obstructing the course of justice and failing to answer bail.
The court was told that Portelli had a long list of prior offending, including helping cover up a bloody murder by cleaning the crime scene in St Albans in 2013.
She also had 24 previous contraventions of bail conditions, several driving offences and the assist murder conviction for which she was jailed for eight months.
“The accused has an extensive criminal history spanning the last 14 years, including offences with direct relevance to the current offending,” Sen Const Dale said
“This includes on the 11th of May 2013 … the accused co-ordinated and participated in the cleaning of a murder scene and the arson of a motor vehicle to assist the primary offender avoiding apprehension and prosecution.”
Portelli’s 25 pages of priors also include speeding to get away from police, driving through a red light and then through a park before running from the vehicle, the court was told.
The officer said Portelli’s licence had been suspended when the August crash occurred and she had 113 demerit points.
Her defence lawyer argued Portelli’s current charges were not serious and she was entitled to bail.
He asked magistrate Felicity Broughton not to hand Portelli “a form of preventative detention or punishment” by keeping her behind bars based on prior offending.
However, the magistrate denied Portelli’s release citing her “significant history” of offending and risk that she may obstruct the course of justice due to her murder assist prior.
Portelli, who cried as the magistrate rejected her bail application, will return to the court on January 5. The August 24 incident was the second fatality in the same stretch of Moreland Road this year.
In mid-May, a male skateboarder died after he was struck by a car near Gordon Street, about 1 km further west.
Residents on and near Moreland Road have been calling for traffic control measures, including a new pedestrian crossing, for several years.
Moreland Road is particularly busy because it is major route to and from CityLink and has a speed limit of 60 kmh, well above most neighbouring roads.
Residents and parents from local schools have been working with the MP for Pascoe Vale, Anthony Cianflone, to have a new pedestrian crossing installed near the site of the May fatality.
A new petition to the Victorian Parliament is calling for additional safety measures in Moreland Road, including reduced speed limits, protected bike lanes and more signalised pedestrian crossings.
This story has been updated with details from Portelli’s court appearance.
Appeal for dashcam footage of Sydney Road crash
POLICE investigators have appealed for dashcam footage following a single car crash in Coburg that left its passenger fighting for life last month.
Police were called to Sydney Road, between Gaffney Street and Pentridge Boulevard, about 10am on 29 August.
They believe a silver Holden Astra hatchback was travelling south when it veered onto the wrong side of Sydney Road and crashed into a power pole.
Both the driver, a 54-year-old Fawkner man, and the female passenger, 45, also from Fawkner were taken to hospital.
The man sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was discharged from hospital about a week later.
But the passenger remains in hospital in a critical condition.
Investigators are appealing to the public for any dashcam footage of the car in the moments prior to the crash.
Anyone with information or footage is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
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